Case T-165/20: Judgment of the General Court of 13 July 2022 — JC v EUCAP Somalia (Arbitration clause — International contract staff of EUCAP Somalia — Common Foreign and Security Policy mission — Termination of a fixed-term contract during the trial period — Notification of termination of the contract by registered letter with a form for acknowledgment of receipt — Sent to an incomplete address — Starting point of the period for an internal appeal prior to court proceedings — Determination of the applicable law — Mandatory provisions of national employment law — Invalidity of the trial clause — Irregular notification of notice — Compensation in lieu of notice — Retroactive payment of remuneration — Counterclaim)
Date: 2022-07-13
Institutions: General Court
Subjects: Belgium, Somalia, fact-finding mission, interest, labour law, private international law, probationary period, remuneration of work, temporary employment, termination of employment








C_2022359EN.01006102.xml










19.9.2022   


EN


Official Journal of the European Union


C 359/61






Judgment of the General Court of 13 July 2022 — JC v EUCAP Somalia
(Case T-165/20) (1)

(Arbitration clause - International contract staff of EUCAP Somalia - Common Foreign and Security Policy mission - Termination of a fixed-term contract during the trial period - Notification of termination of the contract by registered letter with a form for acknowledgment of receipt - Sent to an incomplete address - Starting point of the period for an internal appeal prior to court proceedings - Determination of the applicable law - Mandatory provisions of national employment law - Invalidity of the trial clause - Irregular notification of notice - Compensation in lieu of notice - Retroactive payment of remuneration - Counterclaim)
(2022/C 359/73)
Language of the case: French

Parties


Applicant: JC (represented by: A. Van Himst, lawyer)

Defendant: EUCAP Somalia (represented by: E. Raoult, lawyer)

Re:

By his action under Article 272 TFEU, the applicant seeks, first, a declaration that the letters of 4 November 2019 and of 3 December 2019 by which EUCAP Somalia notified him of its decision to terminate his employment contract are invalid and, in so far as necessary, a declaration that the decision of 24 January 2020 by which EUCAP Somalia rejected his non-disciplinary internal appeal against the decision to terminate his employment contract as notified by the letter of 3 December 2019 is invalid and, second, that EUCAP Somalia be ordered to pay him his salary retroactively until the definitive, proper and lawful end date of the contractual relationship.

Operative part of the judgment

The Court:






1.


Declares that the notice of termination contained in the letter of 4 November 2019 is invalid;










2.


Declares that the termination of the contract of 21 August 2019 concluded between EUCAP Somalia and JC is lawful, valid and enforceable against JC on the date of 5 December 2019 and takes definitive effect at the end of the one month notice period from 9 December 2019 in accordance with Article 18.1 of that contract;










3.


Orders EUCAP Somalia to pay JC, first, a sum corresponding to his remuneration, as set out in Article 12.2 of the employment contract, excluding the daily allowances provided for by Article 15 of that contract, for the period 26 November to 8 December 2019 inclusive and, second, a sum corresponding to compensation in lieu of notice equal to one month of that remuneration, for the period 9 December 2019 to 9 January 2020, plus interest at the statutory rate under Belgian law;










4.


Dismisses the action as to the remainder;










5.


Rejects EUCAP Somalia’s counterclaim;










6.


Orders EUCAP Somalia to pay the costs.






(1)  OJ C 9, 11.1.2021.